THE FACULTY GOVERNANCE SYSTEM
A new system of faculty governance was instituted in Fall 1991, and substantively revised in
1994, 1995, 2000, and 2011. Under this system faculty governance is conducted mainly through
three structural elements—the Core Faculty, the Faculty Executive Committee, and faculty
committees, including Standing Committees, Joint Committees, and Task Committees. The Core
Faculty ordinarily meets at least once each month from September to May (typically for two
hours); it finally decides all matters of policy affecting the faculty. A Faculty Chair is elected for a
one-year once-renewable term by the Core Faculty; he or she chairs the meetings of the Core
Faculty and the Faculty Executive Committee.
The Faculty Executive Committee is the sole faculty committee with general responsibilities for all
phases of faculty governance, and it exercises both legislative and executive functions. It
ordinarily meets at least twice a month, though the chair may call more or fewer meetings as the
workload demands, serving as the executive arm of the faculty and making recommendations on
major issues for faculty approval. Its deliberations provide the agenda for faculty meetings, it
oversees nominations and elections of faculty to some committees, appoints members to other
faculty committees and task forces as needed, and it interconnects faculty governance with the
administration and the Board of Trustees. It is composed of the Faculty Chair, six elected
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tenured faculty members, and the Provost. Its faculty members are elected at-large for
staggered three-year terms, with no more than one from each discipline, and the Provost is a
nonvoting member.
Other work of the faculty is carried out through standing, joint and task committees. Under the
shared governance system, interactions between faculty members and trustees have been
increased and regularized. The Faculty Chair and Deans of the Schools participate as nonvoting
members of the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Academic Affairs, and faculty members also
serve on several other Board committees.
Added Language, paragraph 2 sentence 3, to reflect Amended Faculty Bylaws approved by FEC
Oct 18,2010 and Faculty Nov 8, 2010; further revisions approved by FEC 5/2/11, Faculty 5/9/11.
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Exceptions will be considered by petition to the Provost.